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Duk Duk Daze: Frankie’s Pizza a New Hope Staple

2:00 PM | Saturday, July 6, 2019

For more than 20 years, Frankie’s Chicago Style Bar and Restaurant has served up Chicago-style pizza and hot dogs, Italian beef, as well as pasta and burgers to a hungry New Hope crowd. The local pizza joint also provides the pizza for the pizza eating contest at New Hope’s Duk Duk Daze.

“Sixteen years ago we started the pizza eating contest. It’s a 16-inch thin crust extra-large cheese pizza,” said Kent Garbers, general manager of Frankie’s. “We just started it for fun and it’s been a great competition every year.”

Some eating contests are about quantity. However, this eating contest is all about speed.

“The goal is to eat the entire pizza in less than 10 minutes,” said Garbers. “Not every year somebody finishes it. So we go off of who ate the most. The record is 4 minutes 57 seconds to finish the entire pizza.”

That quick of a time has only happened once. But the crew at Frankie’s has some advice on how to best finish the pizza on the 10-minute mark.

“Take it slow and easy. Don’t eat too much at the start,” said Garbers. “I don’t recommend dipping it in water. Just kind of take it slow but fast and you’ll get there.”

If you are interested in registering for the pizza eating contest, you can do so at the festival the day of the competition. You can also register at the weekend before at Frankie’s Chicago Style Bar and Restaurant in New Hope.

CCX Media is a service of Northwest Community Television serving the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, including Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.